Armed Forces will act together to support the humanitarian crisis in Yanomami lands and to combat illegal mining in the region
Agência Força Aérea – Tenente Marayane e Aspirante Mônica Lopes
The Ministry of Defense activated, on Friday (02/03), through Ordinance No. 710, the Amazon Joint Operational Command (Cmdo Op Cj Amz) to act in the area of the State of Roraima and the portion of the State of Amazonas included in the Yanomami Indigenous Land. The document provides guidelines in the coordination and planning of employment of the Armed Forces (Brazilian Navy, Brazilian Army and Brazilian Air Force) in Operation Yanomami Shield, reinforcing the actions to confront the Public Health Emergency of National Importance and to combat illegal mining in the Yanomami Territory, in Boa Vista (RR).
The measure will have Major-Brigadier Raimundo Nogueira Lopes Neto as Commander, being the first time that the Brazilian Air Force assumes a Joint Command of this nature. The document meets the terms of Decree No. 11,405, of January 30, 2023, of the Federal Government. “Thus, based on art. 142 of the Federal Constitution and art. 16 of Complementary Law No. 97 of June 9, 1999, I authorize the temporary and episodic employment of means of the Armed Forces to support the actions of confronting the health care and combat illegal mining in the Yanomami Territory,” says an excerpt of the Ordinance.
Also according to the document, it is up to the Command of the Brazilian Air Force to establish airspace control over the airspace overlying and adjacent to the Yanomami Territory, under art. 2 of Decree No. 11.405, 2023; remain in a position to provide operational resources to Cmdo Op Cj Amz; indicate the representatives of this Force to make up the Staff of Cmdo Op Cj Amz; and inform the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces the needs for financial resources, in case of effective employment.
Yanomami: more than 75 tons of supplies transported by the Armed Forces¹
The Armed Forces, under the coordination of the Ministry of Defense (MD), continue to intensify the work of support to the Yanomami, which began on January 21. So far, more than 75 tons of food and medicine have been transported by the military, in addition to 3,875 baskets of basic food supplies. The field hospital set up by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) has already provided around 600 consultations. With the aerial means employed, more than 338 hours of flights were completed.
Five aircraft (C-98 Caravan, C-97 Brasilia, C-105 Amazonas, C-130 Hercules and KC-390 Millennium) were mobilized to move personnel and cargo by air. Also the helicopter H-60L Black Hawk, the only means capable of reaching the indigenous villages of the Yanomami territory, due to the infrastructural conditions of the region.
To transport food and medicine in large quantities and in a short period of time, the Army and the Air Force work together, launching the loads by air and using parachutes. The materials arrive at the Boa Vista Air Base, in Roraima, and, after being sorted and packed, they are placed in planes for launching in a specific area of the Surucucu community. With these logistics, more than 40 tons were launched. The donations are transported by helicopter to the villages.
On the humanitarian side, in support of the Ministry of Health, the military personnel work in the field hospital. The Unit has a multidisciplinary team of doctors, in specialties such as orthopedics, general surgery, pediatrics, radiology, gynecology, and pathology, in addition to the ability to perform laboratory tests. It has already performed 37 aeromedical evacuations.
Measures – On January 21, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited the Yanomami Indigenous Health Centre (CASAI Yanomami) and ordered the ministers of various areas to adopt a series of measures to address the serious crisis of the Yanomami people.
The president issued a decree creating the National Coordination Committee for Confronting the Unassisted Health Care of the Yanomami populations in Yanomami territory. In addition, the Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, declared a Public Health Emergency of National Importance due to the need for urgent action to address the crisis faced by these indigenous peoples.
The Minister of Justice and Public Safety, Flávio Dino, determined the opening of a police investigation to investigate the crime of genocide and environmental crimes in the indigenous territory. The Federal Police (PF) will be responsible for determining responsibility and punishing the guilty parties.
¹By Carolina Militão and Isabela Nóbrega – MD – *** Translated by the DEFCONPress FYI Team ***